Everything's Alright
by Bluemoon375
Summary: As the winter season sets in so does a sense of depression within Seto. While pessimism is poised to take hold Ren shares her own thoughts about the uncertain future to try and convince him that in the end it will all work out. Ending spoilers and maybe slight SetoxRen if you look close enough. Song inspired


Even as the days grew further and further into the harsh winter season Seto and Ren found more than enough protection from the bitter cold in the abandoned remains of an elementary school they had managed to come across in their travels. It would be the second time the two have come to face the wintery weather since traveling together for just a little over a year and a half.

A whole year and a half spent without a single sign of another survivor.

The light from the bonfire Seto had built reflected off of the few unrusty lockers that still managed to keep their shine and illuminated the small corner of the hall in which they set up their camp for the season. He kept his gaze focused on the tiny sparks that leapt from the base of the fire and danced around in the air between the flames as Ren made use of the dim light and sketched upon the wall off to his side. The howling winds from the raging snowstorm outside occasionally echoed across the empty building to fill his ears, nearly managing to drown out the clamor of voices in his head.

Though it seemed like so long ago Seto could still vividly recall the sounds of survivors calling out to him through the radio that Sai and he had found within Shin's research complex. While each person they had heard sounded different, all of them, even those he could not understand, were searching for the same thing. For someone to come and show them they weren't alone.

Yet, with almost two years passed since that fateful day when he had taken his first steps out of the observatory he had called home all his life Ren still remained the only physical proof that he wasn't alone in this world.

Those voices, could they have just been ghosts similar to Sai and Shin calling out to him, leaving him and Ren as the only ones truly left? Was that radio actually some sort of advanced machine like PF that simply decided to tell him what he'd want to hear? Or perhaps he failed to fully comprehend the actual size of the world and the survivors he heard were indeed out there but reaching them would take far more time than he could hope to imagine.

More so than ever now he found himself reflecting on Chiyo's parting message to him.

" _Your greatest adventure will be over… no new discoveries will await you… the sun rise and set, that's all your days will have to offer…"_

He had always seen his search for Ren and the resulting journey as only the beginning of something greater but now it was starting to seem as though that _was_ his so called greatest adventure. This cycle of travelling a short distance before settling in for the night at the sight of sunset with Ren, their pursuit for survivors once again futile, was this the monotony before the end that Chiyo spoke of? It pained him how common it was becoming for him to let his mind linger on such pessimistic thoughts but with the snowfall effectively halting their travels till the first warm day of spring there wasn't much hope for any progress.

"Seto." Ren's voice called softly from behind him.

It took him a moment to clear his thoughts before turning to face her.

"What is it?" He asked.

She slid off to the side from where she knelt from to allow the light of the fire to better illuminate the wall previously cast in her shadow.

"What do you think?" She asked in reference to her finished drawing that adorned the revealed area.

Even with all the time Ren had spent decorating their various campsites with her various doodles her skill had never really managed to improve. Her drawings always turned out amateurish and simple, like a child's, though neither she nor Seto seemed to care. The numerous sites where she had left her marked gave them a chance to leave their own memories of their existence to anyone who might have managed to find them, similar to the countless mementoes of the old world they themselves had discovered.

From his spot Seto examined the piece in question. It was a sketch that consisted of two figures and a large crudely drawn circle above them. The figure on the right was colored in a light blue to signify his jacket while the one on the left was colored green to match the parka Ren had found and subsequently now wore to protect herself from the cold. Her hair and the circle between them were both shaded with a touch of white.

"It looks really good." He answered. "I like it."

Ren smiled and let out a giggle. "It's me, you, and the moon. Just three friends traveling together."

Seto gave her a brief smile before returning his focus to the fire, his expression gone by the time his eyes reached the flames. All this time had passed with them alone and unlike him she didn't see anywhere close to considering the possibility that their search was in any way meaningless.

Ren crawled over to his side and wrapped her arms around her legs as she gazed up at the dilapidated ceiling above.

"Do you think the moon is full up in the sky right now?" She wondered aloud. "It's been so long since we've been able to see it."

"I don't know, I can hardly remember what it looked like the last time we were outside." He responded.

"Well full or not I'm sure it's shining up there for everyone to see right now." She remarked.

"Yeah, for everyone…" Seto said quietly as he lowered his head onto his knees.

Ren continued to stare up at the starlit sky she imagined hanging above them for a moment while kicking her feet about before glancing over at Seto who continued to sulk beside her. He wasn't necessarily trying to hide his pessimism which made it all the more easier for her to pick up on it.

"Seto, are you alright?" She asked.

"W-What…? I'm… yeah, I'm alright." He answered, fumbling over his words. Again, he made no real attempt to try and mask his true feelings.

"Something's wrong." Ren said rather bluntly as her eyes fixated on him, almost as if to convince him of his own feelings. "You're upset about something."

Seto looked over at her and gave a weak smile. While it seemed as though she'd be incapable of shedding some of the more childish aspects of her mentality it never did manage to hold her intellect back. Though, in all fairness, her acute senses when it came to detecting emotions could be chalked up to her history with the Glass Cage project.

"What's wrong?" She asked when he refused to speak. Her voice was calm, almost emotionless. "Tell me."

"Well… it's just… I… well…" Seto, again, found himself fumbling his words up. "It's… do you really think we'll ever find someone out here?"

"You mean another survivor?" She questioned.

"Yeah…" He replied. "We've been searching around for so long that… I just don't know if we'll ever find anyone else…"

"But, we managed to find each other." She remarked.

"I know, but…" He paused. It felt selfish to try and imply that that wasn't enough for him and he desired more than just her but that wasn't exactly his intention. "Don't you remember how long ago, underneath the red tower, we made that promise to go and find survivors? Doesn't it bother you that we've failed to find anyone else out here?"

Ren calmly took a deep breath. "We found each other, Seto." She repeated. "Isn't that enough for now?"

Seto sighed. Had she been present when he came across the radio and heard the abundance of voices calling for someone to end their loneliness she might have had a better understanding of his plight. Worse yet, there was always that lingering fear in the back of his that the two of them weren't capable of making it on their own and if they continued to try and do so it would only lead to their inevitable end.

"Well… no…" He finally answered. "I mean… what if one of us gets really sick or hurt? What if we can't find any more food? What if one of us-"

"Seto!" Ren practically snapped as she leaned over towards him. The air around them grew still as the only sounds to be heard were that of the cackling fire and Ren's deep breathing as she attempted to calm herself.

"I'm not worried about any of that." She confessed once her anger subsided. "Things will be okay."

Seto remained quiet and watched as she retreated back to her original spot and looked back up at the ceiling.

"Sometimes, I do worry, sometimes…" She started to admit. "But then, I think about how far we've managed to come and well… I just know things will be okay."

"…"

"Even if it's just the two of us… alone in this entire the world… I know everything will be okay…" Ren continued. "We know how to help each other carry on… and we'll continue to do so, even if things get hard…"

Seto looked back at the flames of the bonfire as he reflected upon her words. She was right. They've managed to survive not only just for the time they've spent with one another but their entire lives.

If they continued to work together then surely they could accomplish much greater things.

Seto could feel tears starting to form in his eyes as he returned his attention to her and attempted to begin to thank her but instantly became startled by a loud commotion coming from a classroom nearby.

"W-What was that?" He questioned aloud as Ren let out a frightful gasp and looked off in the direction of the mysterious noise.

Quickly, he grabbed the flashlight kept at his side and shined the light down the hall.

"Come on, Ren." He said as he rose to his feet. "We should go check it out."

She nodded and stood up as well. Seto looked back at her and gave her a confirmation nod before starting to make his way down the hall with Ren positioned directly behind him for potential safety. While aggressive spirits were no longer an issue since the start of their travels they had had some run-ins with some less than friendly wildlife.

At about the middle of the hallway they could hear the sound of something walking against the tiled floor of the open classroom and stopped. Seto pulled out the lead pipe he kept sheathed around his waist and after looking back at Ren to ensure she was okay jumped into the doorway.

"Who's there?" He shouted.

The room went quiet for a brief moment before he heard a hissing sound come from underneath one of the desks.

"Look Seto." Ren said from behind as she pointed over his shoulder towards the first row of seats. "It's a cat."

Seto shined the light towards the indicated area and revealed a white and brown spotted cat. He stayed in place as Ren slowly entered the room knelt before it.

"Hello there." She spoke gently as the cat backed off a bit. "It's okay. Were you cold?"

The cat withdrew itself further into the room and watched as she extended her hand out to it.

"Come here, it's okay." She told it. "We have plenty of food if you'd like some."

Seto continued to watch in silence as the cat remained distrusting of her before slowly approaching her hand.

"That's it." She cooed as she began to softly stroke its head. "We're friends here."

As Ren proceeded to win over the cat Seto carefully stashed the pipe back in its place, his expression was somewhat glum. It was more than likely due to the conversation they were having moments prior but he had carried a slim hope that the source of the mysterious sound would be that of a survivor searching for a place to stay and company.

A cat, though far from the worst possible outcome, was hardly what he had expected.

"Seto, look." Ren said as she gently picked up the cat and brought it to him. "We have a new friend."

He looked down at the cat as it made itself comfortable in her arms and couldn't help but break out into a slight smile as it nuzzled into her body for warmth.

"Hey little guy." He said softly as he placed his hand atop its head and stroked it. "How'd you get in here?"

Ren turned back and pointed towards the window. "He must have climbed in through that hole in the window."

The two of them both in unspoken unison walked over to the room sized window and looked up at the sky. The snowfall from earlier had subsided allowing the starlit sky above to peek down at them through the few exposed spots scattered amongst the clouds. Most noticeable was the sight of the full moon that within the center of one of those holes.

"Look, a full moon." Ren noticed.

"Yeah." Seto nodded. "It's beautiful."

Ren lowered her head and started to slowly pet the cat in her arms. "You know, every time I see a full moon I think about that night…"

"Huh?" Seto questioned.

"Up there… on the tower…" She began. "The way you fought there for everyone… and me…"

"That….?" He asked.

"If you could fight like that to protect everyone… even those you didn't know… then that's why I know I'm safe when I'm with you." She continued. "If you could stand up to Shin like that to protect everyone, then I know that things will be alright…"

"It… it was nothing…" Seto mumbled, trying to sell himself short. Even after all this time he still didn't fully understand the significance of his duel with Shin at the top of the Twilight Tower. It felt like something anyone could and would do, not just him. He shouldn't have to be important just because it was him.

Ren leaned into him and rested the side of her head against his shoulder, her eyes still locked onto the glowing orb above. "Even if we were to ever grow apart… All I'd need to do is just look up at the moon and then everything will be fine…"

Seto lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"I always used to think of the moon as someone who was all alone like me..." Ren admitted. "But now, when I think about how it reminds me of you, I look at it like one of those mementos we find everywhere... only it's for everyone out there. It holds a memory for everyone, something to remind them that things will be okay." She looked up at him. "What does the moon remind you of Seto?"

Seto reopened his eyes and looked down into hers before looking up at the moon itself. "Well… I guess it reminds me of that night when we first met… out in the lilies…" He could feel his unshed tears from earlier returning to him. "It was when I learned that I wasn't truly alone in this world… because you were there…"

Ren detached herself from his side and looked up at him, a smile beaming on her face. Without a word she delicately placed the cat down on the floor and raised her hand up to him. Without missing a beat Seto raised his own hand up and the two intertwined their fingers with one another's, bringing their hands together.

They could feel the warmth from one another radiating from the other's palm. Such was the main purpose of their gesture, almost as though to tell each other that they were there and alive, but there was something else present this time. It felt almost like a renewed sense of connection between them. That they would stick together always, no matter the obstacle, and that they would continue to brave the empty world with the knowledge that even should they become separated they need only to look up at the moon and remember that everything will be alright.

Their hand's gripped tighter as they drew closer to one another beneath the pale light of the moon. Ren slowly leaned into Seto and rested her head against his chest, gently shutting her eyes.

"I reach out for your hand… we are two and one…" She sang in a whisper.

Reopening her eyes she looked up at sight of Seto's face, the moon sitting high up in the sky behind him. They smiled at one another in silence before the cat that stood between their legs started to let out a whine.

"Oh, how could I forget you?" Ren thought aloud as she let go of Seto's hand and retrieved the cat off the floor.

"Poor guy." Seto remarked as he looked at into its famished eyes. "I don't think they've had much to each out in the snow."

Ren nodded and cuddled it in her arms. "Let's go and get him warmed up by the fire. We can share some of our food as well."

"Yeah." Seto agreed. "Don't worry little guy, everything's going to be alright."

As Ren turned towards the hall and started to make her way out of the room Seto peered one last time out the window and at the moon above. Should a moment ever come where he and Ren become separated by any means all he'd need to do is look up to the moon and remember that he's not alone so long as their memories together exist. And as long as he's not alone then everything would be alright.

* * *

 **A/N: Over this past summer I managed to come across this game and, despite some common issues, thought that the story was pretty well done. I'd have liked to have done a longer fic following the game's ending but I'm holding off on attempting that until I can find a decent translation of the follow-up manga since I hear it's a great addition. Anyho, if you couldn't guess from the title the song that somewhat inspired this one-shot was "Everything's Alright" by Laura Shigihara. The moon theme behind it felt perfect for this game.**


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